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In the years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia took important steps to become a full partner in the world's principal political groupings. On December 27, 1991, Russia assumed the permanent UN Security Council seat formerly held by the Soviet Union. Russia also is a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC). It signed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Partnership for Peace initiative on June 22, 1994. On June 24, 1994, Russia and the European Union (EU) signed a partnership and cooperation agreement. On May 27, 1997, NATO and Russia signed the NATO-Russia Founding Act, which provides the basis for an enduring and robust partnership between the Alliance and Russia--one that can make an important contribution to European security architecture in the 21st century. This agreement was later superseded by the creation of a NATO-Russia Council, which was developed at the Reykjavik Ministerial and unveiled at the Rome NATO Summit in May 2002. Russia has acquiesced (despite misgivings by some) in enlargement of NATO by members first of the former Warsaw Pact and most recently by the Baltic states that were forcibly integrated into the Soviet Union. The Russian Federation has played an important role in helping resolve international conflicts. It is a cosponsor of the Middle East peace process and supports UN and multilateral initiatives in Cambodia, Angola, the former Yugoslavia, Haiti and elsewhere. Russia is also a member of the G-8, which it joined at the Denver Summit in June 1997. In November 1998, Russia joined the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, as well. Russia has contributed troops to the NATO-led Stabilization Force in Bosnia and has affirmed its respect for international law and OSCE principles. It has accepted UN and/or OSCE involvement in instances of regional conflict in neighboring countries, including the dispatch of observers to Georgia, Moldova, Tajikistan, and Nagorno-Karabakh. |
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